Of Burns and Scalpels
by Mizuno-Suzuka
Summary: "One day Rose," He said pushing the hair out of her face, "Someone is going to swoop you up and insist you never touch a bloody dragon again. And I mean that quite literally." Rose smiled and placed her hand on his. "That's why I keep coming back to you isn't it?" A ScorRose tale. Other pairings may be inside. Rating for accident prone Weasley/Potter brood!
1. Just a Bad Day

Of Burns and Scalpels

A ScorRose tale

Rose pulled her gloves on, carefully tightening the straps and making sure they were tucked into her fire resistant cloak. Her hair was pulled tight and hidden beneath a Dragon Hide cap, her boots heavy on her feet. She smiled serenely and cracked her knuckles.

"Bring it on Cadswell."

Rose Weasley was a Hogwarts student Four years prior, and now she was a certified dragon veterinarian. This was her life, her job. Currently she worked for the reserve, but this was her last stint for them. After this, she could easily take up her own mantle.

Contrary to belief, the job of being a vet to magical creatures was extremely dangerous, and incredibly difficult. Dragons were naturally temperamental creatures, especially the females, who when in heat were more than just a bit more fiery, and hated being within a few meters of a human being. Well, most of them. Some were more docile, having grown up around human settlements or in an environment less hostile than a dragon den, but a good majority were moody, violent, and more dangerous than they should be.

Rose always spent a lot of time at the dragon reserve, which made it almost impossible for her to have a relationship. Most men wanted her to be around a lot, come home to a warm bed, a glass of wine and a kiss. Maybe even more. But not Rose. No, Rose, she loved her job. So much in fact that she rarely went home. At all.

Her fellow vets teased her endlessly that she should be a dragon expert the way she studied the creatures. All day, all night. She was obsessed! But never once did she get upset or get offended. No! She was proud to be obsessed.

You see, it all started her third year of school. Rose had signed up, like the Ravenclaw she was, for as many classes as she could cram into her schedule without exceeding the maximum allowed. Her first day third year consisted of potions, charms, divination and care of magical creatures. Potions had been mostly a review, charms highly uneventful, and divination a right out bore. But upon stepping out onto the grounds that day and beginning her new class of care of magical creatures, Rose found that she already knew just what it was that she wanted from her life. At thirteen!

Excitedly, she had been the first to volunteer when Hagrid, still ever spry for an older man, asked for two volunteers to help him pull some crates of nifflers for their first lesson. The spade like dog creatures immediately intrigued Rose and she was tempted to pick one up and cuddle it. However she remembered the warnings her father had always given her, and avoided doing so, even though the temptation was something great. Alongside her was Scorpius Malfoy, her fellow Ravenclaw and third part of the new aged golden trio, made up of herself, Albus Potter and Scorpius.

Through the following years she and the two boys had gone through teasing, skepticism and an abundance of ignorant remarks. But none of them cared. They were friends, and so what? Rose was the smart, very clumsy and slightly accident prone of the group. Her wild hair and electric eyes made her seem more intimidating than she was and gave her appearance a life of its own. Albus was shy. He hadn't wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father completely, having a little inkling in him that sometimes, it's better to be an individual. He had told Rose and Scorpius one time, in total confidence, that when the sorting hat had been choosing his house, it was stuck between three houses! But Albus remembered telling the hat that he wanted something more from Hogwarts than a reputation that followed just the family and not the traits of his mind. With that, the hat had bestowed Ravenclaw with its first Potter.

Scorpius Malfoy. No one had seen his sorting coming either. He was already assumed to have been destined for Slytherin, and with each passing moment that the hat didn't spout out such, the Great Hall had become even quieter, until suddenly it had cried, "Ravenclaw!" Rose remembered smiling at the boy who, for a moment, looked utterly lost and almost afraid. But he'd caught her smile and he nodded, heading to the home of his new family. Rose found that Scorpius was actually a very quiet child, had very high patience and what's more, was extremely clever. However she also remembered how smooth he could be when he wanted to be. He could easily speak circles around anyone, sometimes even Rose, and it was hard for a lot of people to say anything rude to him, as he always turned it around on them. Albus had always laughed and told them that he couldn't have ever picked better friends.

Rose sighed and opened the door that would lead her to the mass reserve where Cadswell, her Hungarian Horntail awaited her. He was by far one of her favorite dragons, just to observe. He was rather brutish to the trainers and handlers, but for her, he seemed to almost calm down. Almost.

She had yet to go a full week without getting a burn, bite or bruise from any dragon that she was trying to treat. The handlers always offered to sedate the large creatures, but Rose refused most of the time, observing that the dragons tended to split their wounds back more frequently if they just woke up having them. If they could see she was helping, they, or at least she felt, would take more care not to rampage until the natural healing process was complete. This would be her first complete week without an incident. She was rather excited.

Today Cadswell was just getting a basic checkup. Rose had done this job many times, but it never became boring to her, and she never got tired of visiting the dragons. Each dragon had a personality that made them that much more interesting and that much more beautiful in her eyes. Albus had called her stark raving mad on more than one occasion. She always laughed and brushed it off.

"Cadswell!" She crooned, taking great care to walk up slowly to the lazing Horntail. "I'm here to do a quick checkup, don't be naughty now!" Cadswell merely watched her warily as she slowly made her way around to his mouth. His head was easily three or four times her size, and she would be lying if she didn't admit it did intimidate her a little. The Horntail snorted as she tentatively reached a hand out to pat his nose, and the dragon groaned approvingly. Rose took that as her cue to begin her checkup before his good mood disappeared. It only took moments for a dragon to start freaking out. Usually it was the scent of an unfamiliar dragon making its way into their territory uninvited, or if one stumbles too close to a nest.

Rose's check went completely uninhibited and she smiled, petting the horntail softly.

"There, there old boy." She said walking away as slowly as possible. "I'll be back to check on you again soon." The key to not getting attacked by a dragon you were healing was to never look away from its eyes as you backed away. Rose was at first a little frightened of this, but she realized it is seen as a sign of respect. If you broke your eye contact too soon, the dragon would attack, feeling that you were, in essense, being a rude little toe rag. Rose had yet to ever break contact with a dragon, but there was always a first for everything.

She had just made it past the point for eye contact to be broken when a very foreign cry rang out over her head. She whipped her head around quickly, looking to see what made the noise when suddenly a not so foreign snarl came from the direction of the Horntail, who was now very furious that another dragon had dared enter its territory. Rose's eyes widened in horror as Cadswell's wings spread and he took flight, his tail swishing violently and crashing right into her right arm. She was lifted up a good ten feet before a harsh twist of the dragons tail dislodged its spikes from her arm, and dropped her to the ground. The last thing Rose heard was the screaming of a dragon handler and the furious cries of the two tempered dragons before she slipped into a cloak of blackness.

..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::...

Scorpius Malfoy ran his hand through his ruffled hair tiredly. Would this day never end? Three cases of some horrid rash that swarmed anyone who touched the skin of someone infected by it. (Two of the nurses broke out in it shortly after coming into contact with the man who came in almost festering.) Two potion explosions that resulted in very painful looking boils in places he'd rather have never seen, and a case of a backfired spell that caused the woman to sprout tentacles and turn a very ripe looking purple color. All in just the first few hours he was on shift. And he still had six hours to go.

Sometimes, Scorpius hated having decided to be a healer.

At least for the moment he hadn't had to deal with anyone familiar. In his experience of his first year as an actual healer and not an intern or student, he'd run into more than his fair share of Weasleys and Potters, as well as his own family and friends from Hogwarts, who it seemed just couldn't stay out of trouble even after becoming an adult. So far, he'd recognized not one person that he knew. He felt a swell of pride. Perhaps he'd actually make it the whole week without having to reprimand a family member on their carelessness or sew up a wound on a friend. He sighed. Fat chance.

"Alright there, Scorp?" A voice said. He turned to look and saw Lucy Weasley, a new Healer intern.

"Very much so Luce, happy I haven't seen anyone familiar, until you of course." He joked. Lucy laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me you don't love it when Albus comes running through here with his lips clamped shut and his eyes forced open begging you to fix it." She said giggling. Scorpius groaned. Albus was his second most frequent patient. The man couldn't seem to just get his stuff right. He worked as a curse breaker for Gringotts, but in addition to most of his successes, came also a little curse. Usually something rather comical, like an everlasting tickle spell, or a tap dancing malady, but there was the occasional hallucinations or deep gouging wounds that mysteriously appeared all over his body. Those were the days Scorpius hated being a healer. Albus refused to be seen by anyone else. Not unlike his cousin, who had a habit of dropping in even more than Albus did.

"Oh, I just love to see my best mate come trudging in here with a new curse every week." He said sarcastically. "It makes my day everytime." Lucy laughed and slapped his shoulder playfully.

"Oh don't be a cad." She said. "You know it's part of his job."

"Yeah, yeah." He acquiesced. "I just sometimes wonder why he didn't just become an auror or something. He comes in more often than they do." Lucy laughed.

"Well that's Al." She replied. "I have to go make rounds, catch up later?" She asked. Scorpius nodded and headed back towards the break room when he heard a congregation of voices and the familiar sound of squealing gurney wheels.

"Wouldn't it be amazing if that happened to be my most frequent visitor." Scorpius said under his breath before he made himself turn around. Shaking his head he sighed as he saw a shock of red hair.

Well, speak of the devil.

**Well hello there! I've been itching to write a little ScorRose romance and finally an idea popped into my head! I know! Finally right! Goodness it's been so long. I'm constantly reading other interpretations of Scorpius and Rose's escapades but have yet to complete my own. So! Here is my first chapter! I hope it is to your liking and I hope that you will continue to read on as I continue this story! **

**Ciao!**


	2. Fancy That

Of Burns and Scalpels

Fancy That

Scorpius snapped out of his musings quite quickly when he realized that not only was it Rose that was making her way dramatically through his hallway on a gurney, but her blood was spewed across every surface with in a few feet of her, including some of his interns, and her face was paler than parchment. She was completely still, save for her blood which continued to spray from her body as if it was an endless fountain. The healers were pressing gauze to her arms but they were quickly bleeding through. This accident was by far her worst.

Scorpius quickly rushed over and walked alongside the gurney as they led it to the operating room.

"Vitals?" He asked, keeping his voice level. No need to alarm his fellow healers. The second another healer sensed emotional attachment, they removed him or her from the patients call. The healer in question would be given a counseling mark in their file and would be debriefed on healer protocol. Scorpius prided himself in never having been accused of an attachment, and he wouldn't start now.

"They're steadily dropping Healer Malfoy." Healer Harrison said, glancing down at her vital sheet, which was rapidly changing numbers. "She's losing a very large amount of blood, and she hasn't regained consciousness since she was brought in here." Scorpius nodded and pulled the gurney into the next available room. He and three other healers quickly transferred her to the bed and closed off the room to prevent anyone else walking in unexpectedly, particularly her father, who was bound to have found out about the injury as soon as she had been admitted to the hospital. And like always, at any minute, he would come bounding in, screaming bloody murder and throwing his Weasley temper about St. Mungos like it was no one's business.

Scorpius pulled his wand out of his robe and summoned some of his special gauze that was meant for arterial bleeding. Since her arm was doused rather heavily in blood, it was hard to see where the main wound originated, or if there was more than one. The first step was to clean it up as best they could, and then get to work on the rest. Scorpius rarely encountered puncture wounds such as this, but when he did he knew what to do.

"Rossi, grab the blood bags, Harrison, help me get some of this blood cleared up. We need to get the bleeding to stop." Immediately the healers set to work, clearing up the blood and trying to find the source of the major bleeding. Just as Scorpius had thought, whatever had slashed her this time had hit an artery. But not only that, her arm was broken. Compound fracture in her forearm, a clear break in the bicep area and a few shards of bone here and there splayed among the bloody torn flesh. Scorpius paled realizing they didn't have much time left. She was dying.

"Blood bags are in position." Healer Rossi said, hooking up the IV to Rose's uninjured arm. "Ten seconds until bleed out."

"Alright, let's clear her out." Scorpius said. He waved his wand along her arm and all of the blood seemed to suspend in air. It was a little charm he'd learned right before he became an official healer. Her veins stopped spilling out like a river and it seemed almost as if time had stopped. He leaned over the wounds and peered deep into the flesh.

"I need a sedative here asap." He said calmly, moving his wand to shift the bones slowly back into their place, or out of her arm altogether. "As well as some skelegro and blood binding potion." He heard someone's feet shuffle out of the room and the door click closed. However the air in the room seemed to change and the hairs on Scorpius's neck seemed to stand on end. He didn't look away from Rose though, he couldn't. He'd never seen her look so pale.

"What the _hell_ is going on here Scorpius?" Ron Weasley had finally arrived on the scene.

In Scorpius's whole life, never had he ever met someone so tenacious and slightly ignorant as Ronald Weasley, Co-head to the Auror department, one of the Golden Trio, and Harry Potter's best friend. Scorpius didn't disrespect the man; in fact he had a lot of respect for him. However the ever present Mr. Weasley hadn't been really too fond of Scorpius, especially when he'd found out his darling Rose had decided that he was to be her new best mate. Scorpius remembered an awful lot of threats, glares and name-calling, while Rose's mother calmly discouraged her husband and encouraged Rose to continue her friendship with the Malfoy boy. It had taken the whole time they were at Hogwarts for him to realize that Scorpius was not a carbon copy of his grandfather, or father for that matter, and that he was not all that bad a child.

However, it seemed, he'd caught on that Rose always seemed to be in _Scorpius's _emergency room when she was injured. The man was highly suspicious and had assumed on more than one occasion that Rose was doing it on purpose, or that perhaps there was some sort of conspiracy happening that he wasn't a part of. Scorpius had denied it every time of course, telling him that Rose just preferred him as her healer because she knew that he was experienced enough to handle her case and had a decent bedside manner to boot. Before Ron could usually debate this, Rose would come up, nearly as red as her father, and reprimand him, pulling him by his jacket sleeve out of the hospital. Scorpius always laughed at how red their ears were, Rose's in embarrassment and Ron's in anger.

"Mr. Weasley, though I'd love to tell you every detail about how your daughter ended up on my operating table yet again," He began, still not turning to look at the malevolent red head, "I neither have the time, nor know the full story. I have a job to do if you want Rose to wake up again."

For the first time Scorpius could ever remember, Ron Weasley did not reply. No backhanded retort, no grumbling, no cursing. Just silence. For a moment anyway.

"It's that bad?" He asked, agony filling his tone. At this he couldn't help but look up. Harrison was already finishing the spells Scorpius had started, and Natasha was placing the skelegro into Rose's IV line. He looked into a pair of eyes that he had seen for so many years it was as if he knew what they were saying. Rose's eyes.

"I need you to trust me." He said slowly. "I will take care of her." Ron slowly nodded and backed up, heading towards the door.

"I suppose I should know that by now." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. And with that he was gone. Odd, what was that supposed to mean?

Scorpius turned back to Rose's arm and began lightly pulling on her flesh.

"She's missing quite a bit of her bicep muscle and the muscle that should be sheltering her Ulna and Radius are completely shredded." Scorpius said adjusting the light over her arm. "Her Ulna itself it cracked vertically and is missing a shard. Though the skelegro should take care of that. Have all the shards been removed?"

"Yes, she should be good to go from here on out." Healer Harrison said. "Work your magic Scor, she's gonna need it." He nodded and began his work. He had a long few hours ahead of him.

..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..

Albus Potter made his way down the corridor from the main administration office to his cousin's office. Rose was rarely in there more than a few moments a day, but he could count on her to be in there after a shift, and, if he was right, she should have already finished tending to her dragon Cadswell (He said _her_ dragon because she was the only one who could get within a hundred feet of the thing without immediately setting it off.) and be getting ready to leave for the day.

His brisk walk took him to Rose's office, but the door was closed, locked, and no lights were on.

"That's odd." Albus said, scratching his head. "She never leaves early. Maybe she's out there still?" He turned himself and began walking towards the back entrance, where the Dragon reserve was located. Hidden by vast amounts of magic, muggles would never have expected there to be anything behind the broken down building and seemingly acres of forest (Which in reality was more or less a giant field with a few brush trees and endless mountains.) but a charm was cast to divert anyone non-magical from making their way into it out of curiosity.

Upon reaching the end, Albus ran into one of Rose's coworkers, Harvey Bustrot. The man looked thoroughly frazzled and seemed to sputter at Albus's appearance in the building.

"Albus!" He said, his voice squeaking unattractively. "What a surprise!"

"Where's Rose?" He asked, cutting quite literally to the chase. He wasn't in the mood to deal with beating around the bush. He just wanted to see his cousin, maybe complain about how nothing good had happened at work, listen to her ramble about Dragons for a bit. Normal things. Maybe tease Scorpius behind his back about how much he worked. He also wanted to tell her about something new that had developed in his life, a girl so to speak, and Dragon's be damned if he wasn't going to talk to his favorite cousin!

"Rose isn't here." Harvey squeaked again. Albus rolled his eyes. How this man came within a few feet of a dragon was beyond him. No one could have such a small backbone and still be expected to heal a dragon without crying.

"I've gathered that." Albus replied testily. "What I want to know is _where_ she _is_." Harvey's expression didn't change when he answered;

"She's been taken to St. Mungo's. Terrible accident. Nearly took off her arm. I've got to go, mess of paperwork to complete, you understand-" But without waiting for a reply the man scooted away leaving Albus to process what he'd just heard.

"Bloody hell Rose…" Albus said shaking his head. He deliberated for a moment, turned on the spot and disappeared, apparating to the entrance of St. Mungo's.

**Whoo! This chapter was a bit of a doozy! I haven't quite gotten to too much yet, still trying to get some background information so that the story will flow much easier later on BUT! I digress.**

**I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter, May not update for a few more days, I have a busy schedule most days, the Navy eats my life D: Until next time! (Ah! And don't forget to review every now and then! They keep me motivated ;D)**


	3. Recovering Addict

Of Burns and Scalpels

Recovering Addict

Albus patiently made his way down the hall to the help desk, knowing that if Rose made an entrance as she usually did, it was the only place he'd find out where she'd gone, although he was pretty sure he already knew where she was. Rose, quite like himself, preferred to be treated by their school friend turned healer, Scorpius Malfoy. Nothing against any of the other healers, but they tended to make a bigger deal when he and Rose came through. Or any of the Weasley-Potter brood. Albus had a hunch it was likely due to the fact their parents were famous.

But not Scorpius. Oh no. That man gave them the fixing they needed, then sent them on their way, usually making snide side comments about their clumsiness while they bashed his bedside manner. Friendly smiles were always exchanged and that's usually how it went.

"Potter, Albus, here to see patient Rose Weasley." He said to the desk clerk without waiting for her to finish her statement. The girls eyes snapped up and he immediately noted the surprise and awe.

"Rose Weasley?" She asked breathlessly. Albus nodded. She looked down at her pad of paper and trailed a long finger down the list.

"She's not listed here Mr. Potter." The girl replied chagrined. "Perhaps she's already been released? Is there anything else I can do for y-" Albus was about to reply when a hand came down on his shoulder and spun him around.

"Uncle Ron?" He asked, looking at him in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"Same reason as you I reckon." Ron said, smiling tightly. "Though I already got the information I wanted. But since you're curious, I think I'll take it from here." He said to the girl, steering Albus away to the desk clerks obvious annoyance.

"So Rose is here?" Albus asked, unable to wait a second longer.

"Yes, she's here." Ron said slowly, his eyes very somber. "She's in the operating room. Scorpius took her in there and has been working on her for a little over an hour. No one's gone in or out since I came out."

"Is she okay? What happened? The prat at the reserve didn't tell me anything." Albus whined, already very worried about his cousin. Ron sighed and slumped into a chair that was nearby.

"I trust Scorpius enough to know he'll do his best." Ron said vaguely. "But she looked… She looked pretty bad. I'm not sure Rosie's ever been in such a bad way before. Whatever happened this time, she wasn't ready for it."

"Did she get bit?"

"No not quite a bite." Ron replied wryly. "It wasn't like a puncture wound. Her whole arm was flayed apart. I saw bones sticking out of her skin and there wasn't a place where her blood wasn't splattered. She was so pale…" He trailed off and Albus collapsed in the seat next to him.

"Trust Rosie to get herself really hurt… What did Scorpius say?" Albus questioned curiously. Ron leaned back and held the bridge of his nose.

"He told me he'd do his best to take care of her. The way he said it made it sound like if he didn't hurry she could die. But there's no way Rosie would die like that right? Such a strong girl she is… But it's been a long time, especially for a magic operation…" Albus and Ron sat in silence for a few moments, unsure of what else to say. It seemed like time slowed down, only a few healers passed by now and then. All was quiet.

Nearly three hours after she'd been brought in, Scorpius opened the door and exited, releasing a long held breath. Albus and Ron were on their feet in an instant and surrounded the medic with questions in their eyes.

"Now before you go ballistic," Scorpius said rubbing his head. "She's alive. But she's still unconscious. Probably will be for a while, they pumped quite a bit of sedative in her system. We'll be moving her to a regular room shortly, and then you can visit her then." He paused for a second. "Now, what questions do you have?"

"When you say alive…?" Ron said questioningly. Scorpius nodded, knowing what he was getting at.

"She will, or should at least, make a full recovery. You know Rose, she wouldn't give up in a million years." He sighed. "I was a bit panicked for a moment though. When Rose comes in here _usually_ it's a minor injury like a burn or a small bite from a baby dragon. I've never seen her arm, or anyone's for that matter, that torn up."

"We'll have to stress the importance of being more careful this time." Albus said shaking his head. "Not that she'll listen. She's absolutely batty about those dragons." Ron chuckled half-heartedly and coughed gruffly.

"Well I ought to be out of here." Ron hedged, shifting away from the two friends. "I do have work to get on with. Make sure you tell Rosie to come see me when she wakes up." It wasn't a suggestion, and it wasn't the first time Scorpius had heard it. Rose was a daddy's girl through and through. She would have gone and seen him even if he hadn't demanded it. She was always like that. It was purely out of habit that her father continued to ask that the message be passed on. Scorpius nodded and Ron turned heel without another word.

"So," Albus said, turning his full attention to his best mate. "Did he throw a gigantic fit like last time?" Scorpius chuckled and ruffled his hair under his hand.

"Nah," Scorpius replied. "Actually, he kept pretty quiet. Didn't even proceed to attack me verbally like he did last time. It was weird to say the least. Then again, I was more focused on Rose than what her father was going to say to me." Albus smiled micheviously.

"Oh you were focused on _Rose_ were you?" He teased. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Oh bugger off, you knew what I meant." Albus wagged his eyebrows.

"Well what if I didn't?" He asked, smirking at Scorpius's expression. "If I were just a lone bystander, I might think that you _like_ Rose or something."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Scorpius replied rolling his eyes.

"I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one who would." Albus pointed out. "And besides, it's not like I'd get anything out of it."

"Except the pleasure of telling me 'I told you so'. Oh, and a good fifty galleons in your pocket."

"Scorpius!" Albus said in a scandalized tone, placing a hand on his heart. "I would never place bets on whether or not my cousin would end up with my best friend! What kind of person do you think I am?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow and Albus burst out into hysterics.

"Alright, alright, but even if I did, I wouldn't win." Albus explained. "I was betting for seventh year. But you two are both so bloody oblivious that I lost, and then some. But, thankfully, no one else _has_ won, so for now, I've not had to pay up." Scorpius shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe you."

"What? It's a highly profitable bet."

"Not for you apparently." Scorpius pointed out. "And anyway who said Rose and I would ever be anything more than friends? For Pete's sake neither of us even have time for a stable relationship let alone-" Scorpius was cut off by the operation room doors opening and Rose being wheeled out on a gurney. She was still unconscious, but at least now there was some color, albeit little, in her cheeks and she seemed to be breathing normally. Scorpius and Albus watched as they wheeled her away, when Natasha, one of the healers that had been working on the project, stopped beside Scorpius.

Natasha Malkovich was a year behind Scorpius and Albus in school, but she'd never acted it. She'd always hung around older students, mostly male, and had most everything made for her in school. She was smart, but also conniving, vain and very selfish. Rose had on more than one occasion laid crude comments on the girls lap, but Natasha was just as fierce right back. The two never got along, and it didn't help that Natasha was always after Scorpius's attention, and, to Albus anyway, it had seemed Rose was not fond of this at all. In fact, if Albus could have said anything, he'd have said she was jealous.

Scorpius was not fond of Natasha either, but not because she was trying to hit on him or anything. It was because he just wasn't interested and she never seemed to be able to take a hint. Scorpius wasn't well known for being rude or nasty, and in fact most of Hogwarts and the wizarding world believed him to be a right out gentleman. But Natasha got what Natasha wanted, and when she couldn't clasp Scorpius, she threw a right out tantrum. At that point, he had made it quite clear that she was to stop acting like a spoilt child and more like the adult she was, (Well sort of, it had been her fifth year.) or no one would bother with her.

After that they hadn't dealt with her too much. That was until she'd followed Scorpius in his career choices. Now Scorpius was not a suspicious man, but when Albus pointed out that she'd requested to shadow him on his rounds and that she had placed her hour requests around his, he started to doubt her sanity.

"Alright there Scor?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice, completely ignoring Albus. The man in question rolled his eyes and raised his arms in exsasperation.

"Yes, Listen Natasha, I don't really have time to talk to you, I'm kind of busy." He said indicating Albus. Natasha barely glanced at Albus before huffing.

"So you have time to talk to your best friend but not to a fellow healer?" She questioned testily. "You know it's against protocol to speak to anyone not on duty or payroll, not including patients, while you are on duty." She quoted haughtily. Scorpius groaned.

"I'm not just some bum off the street Ms. Malkovich." Albus said acidly. "My cousin was just in a terrible accident. Maybe you noticed? I mean, her blood is all over your blouse." Natasha leered at Albus but turned to Scorpius.

"Scor, later, before our shift was done, I was wondering if maybe we could talk? It will only take a moment of your time. I promise." Scorpius sighed.

"Fine, just get on with what you have to do." Natasha smiled sunnily and made her way back down the hallway. Albus shook his head.

"You are too nice mate." Albus said in disbelief. "When are you going to tell her to just bugger off?

"When you tell Alice Longbottom that you more than just enjoy having coffee with her on Tuesdays."

"…" Scorpius's jaw dropped and he just gaped at his friend for a moment. When no response came, he blinked rapidly and closed his mouth.

"Are you kidding me?"

**Well hello there my dear readers! So my whole point for this story was to have a little comedy, so amidst Rose's little accident, we had a little bit of Albus and Scorpius dialogue. I imagine that they would have quite the friendship. Be able to tease each other and still be good about everything. When Rose wakes up, we'll have to take a little dip into the world of Scorpius and Albus's friendship with the redheaded Firecracker.**

**Until Next time!**

**P.S. I plan on writing three chapters per week. If I can update sooner, I will, but I do do that Navy thing. :D Enjoy!**


	4. Meet And Greet

Of Burns and Scalpels

Meet and Greet

Rose opened her eyes and blinked. She was temporarily blinded by a light that she wasn't immediately familiar with. She groaned and went to mover her hand to her forehead. She felt a dull ache in her right arm as she lifted it and she scrunched her face in confusion. What was going on? Why did it feel like she'd just gotten slammed by a bludger?

She quickly scanned the room for any quick memory triggers. Anything to make her remember where she was. Almost as soon as she'd glanced to her left, it all came slamming back into her consciousness without any warning.

"Oh!" She gasped, remembering the accident. "_Oh_!"

She remembered Cadswell. The foreign dragon. Roaring as a mass of black suddenly took flight. Her body paralyzed in place as she watched the tail come her way. Spikes running through her flesh and lifting her up, high above the ground. Pain and burning, as if she was on fire. Suddenly she was dropped, and she heard snapping, followed by an all consuming darkness.

She touched her face and realized she was crying. Funny, there was no pain. Just the dull ache and the memories. She wasn't sad necessarily, injuries came with her job, especially when she decided to deal with dragon's that _weren't_ sedated. It was expected.

Rose turned back to her forward view and forced herself to sit up. She didn't feel dizzy, or like she'd been sleeping for a very long time. It actually felt like she'd slept a whole night and was ready to get up and run around. With speed unusually for her, she tore off the blankets and padded barefoot to the door. She turned the handle and flung the door open, only to come face to face with her cousin Lucy.

"Luce!" Rose squeaked, going rigid. "F-fancy meeting you here!" Lucy cocked an eyebrow and shifted her weight to her left hip.

"And where exactly do you think _you're_ going, hmm?" Rose shied back sheepishly. Lucy was a no joke healer intern. She'd gone to Hogwarts two years behind Rose, and had somehow "always known" That she'd want to be a healer, or as she put it, that it was meant to be. Kind and matronly, very much like her mother, but stubborn like her father, she was quite unmovable when it came to her patients. Especially when they were family.

"Um, well…" Rose stammered. "I was just going to take a nice walk is all-" She began

"Yes, out the door I'm sure." Lucy admonished in amusement. "Get back into bed Rose, before I'm forced to call your doctor here to restrain you."

Rose blushed and turned heel, stomping back to her bed, jumping under the covers and crossing her arms grumpily in front of her.

"Cheap shot Luce." She grumbled unhappily. Rose knew Scorpius would not use conventional methods to subdue her. He had always told her, "If you insist on acting like a child, I will treat you like one." Usually, it was highly embarrassing and not very pretty.

Lucy smiled brightly at Rose's scowl.

"Now let me just do a quick checkup and then Healer Malfoy will be in to see you." She said cheekily. Everyone knew Rose had a not so secret soft spot for her childhood friend. Rose's cheeks burned.

..::..::..::…::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..

"You asked her out and haven't _told_ me yet?!" Scorpius cried incredulously. "Am I your best mate or just side meat! Seriously, when did that happen?" Albus shifted his feet sheepishly.

"Well actually, funny story." Albus began. "I was on my way to tell Rose first. It happened this afternoon. She'd stopped by the bank to say hello and you know me, I don't filter well. I just kind of, well, blurted it out." Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Smooth mate, smooth." Scorpius replied. "Though I can't believe you'd tell Rose before me. Prat." Albus laughed and rolled his eyes.

"You'll get over it." He said. "Besides, it doesn't really matter anyway." Scorpius tilted his head in confusion.

"Whys that?" He asked. Albus shrugged.

"Well with Rose's little accident today it seems I have bigger problems on my plate." Scorpius nodded. Rose did tend to draw usually unwanted attention to herself.

"Speaking of Rose," Scorpius said glancing at his watch. "The sedative should be wearing off now. I need to go get her checked out to make sure she's made a full recovery."

"Oh I don't doubt that you'll be checking her out." Albus replied wagging his eyebrows. Scorpius hit his friends arm and shook his head.

"You never grow tired of that do you?" Albus chuckled and patted his friend on the back.

"Someday Scor, you'll see what were all talking about. But until then, you have a lot of growing up to do." Scorpius scowled good naturedly. Albus was possibly the most immature of the three. If he had to say, mentally, Albus was approximately fifteen, even though he was almost twenty four now. Scorpius thought himself to be pretty mature, though from time to time he did engage in activities that would suggest otherwise.

"Come on, let's go check on your cousin." Scorpius hedged, briskly walking in the direction of Rose's room.

Just as they came to the door, a very put off looking Lucy walked out. Her face and ears were bright red, and there was tinkling laughter coming from inside the now closed room. Lucy scowled at the two amused expressions.

"Oh push off." She responded to their questioning gazes, blushing even harder. "She's awake if you couldn't tell. I checked her vitals, she's responded well. Goodbye now." And with that she and her heels clicked away.

"I wonder what Rose did this time." Albus pondered. Scorpius shrugged and opened the door. Rose was sitting up in bed, still giggling like mad, her face almost as red as Lucy's was.

"Do you enjoy torturing our dear cousin?" Albus asked, snapping Rose out of her little fit. She immediately broke into a wild grin as she took in her friends.

"Oh, you know it's all in good fun." She replied. "Besides, one should never deal that which they cannot in turn receive." Albus coughed. Of course. Rose _would_ retaliate to something Lucy said. She never could be beat when it came to comebacks.

"Alright there Scorp?" She continued, turning to the Healer.

"Better than yourself I'd venture." He teased. "I still don't understand how you manage to keep ending up in my bed." He teased suggestively. Rose blushed.

"It's not _your_ bed, exactly." She said. "It's the Institutes. You just happen to put me in it after you fix me all up. Now, speaking of fixing me up, you've done a splendid job this time, so, now that I'm feeling loads better, I'll just be getting my things and-"

"Ah-ah," Scorpius interrupted, holding up a slender finger. "I don't think so. You're not going anywhere just yet. You have to make a therapy appointment for next week to ensure all the bones were replaced correctly and then you have paperwork to do. You know the drill. There's no just waltzing into my operating room and skipping out scott-free." He smirked at her outraged expression.

"You can't expect me to sit here and do _paperwork!_" She cried incredulously. Albus snickered and Rose sent him a glare.

"Yes, I can." He replied. "Especially if you're feeling that much better. Now, sit still for a few moments so I can check your arm, and we'll hash out some minor details about your release, okay?" Rose grumbled but made no attempt to argue.

"Albus, I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside. Patient-Doctor thing." Albus rolled his eyes and smirked. Scorpius shook his head as the man left the room. He turned to Rose.

"Alright, I'm going to press on a few pressure points, I need you to tell me if its numb, it hurts, or its normal. Try to work with me okay?" Rose nodded and Scorpius pressed his fingers first to the top of her arm. First very gently then a little harder.

"Normal." She replied to his questioning gaze. He nodded and and moved down towards where the top of her wound had been and pressed down.

"How about here?" He asked.

"A little numb," She admitted. "Almost as if a numbing spell were wearing off."

"That's completely normal." Scorpius said nodding. "I'd be more concerned if it hurt a lot." Rose nodded and he continued to check along her arm in silence for a few moments. After he finished checking her arm, he pinched her.

"Ow!" She gasped, looking scandalized. "What was that for?"

"For worrying me." He replied simply. Rose blushed and turned her gaze away.

"Sorry." She mumbled. "It wasn't my intention to end up in the hospital bed. Believe it or not, I was excited for my whole week to be accident free for the first time in a long time. But, alas." She laughed and Scorpius smiled.

"Well I can't say I'm too upset." Scorpius said, straightening up. "I do enjoy seeing you Rose. I feel like Al and I never see you outside your little accidents." Rose looked down guiltily.

"Yes well…" She squirmed and kept her gaze down. "It's not intentional I assure you." Rose felt guilty for a moment. She hadn't realized how much time she actually spend tending to the dragons. She'd been so busy the past few years, she rarely saw friends. Alice every so often, Al during Weasley gatherings as well as any of the rest of her family. But Scorpius, well, she rarely saw him unless she was in the hospital nursing a third degree burn.

"I'm sure it's not." Scorpius replied softly. He paused for a second, suddenly looking down. He shifted and Rose looked at him curiously.

"What?" She prompted. Scorpius hardly ever was at a loss for words.

"Nothing." He said suddenly, looking up and smiling. "I need you to fill out this sheet here, sign at the bottom and after that you're free to go. I'll make the appointment for your checkup and send you an owl, if that's alright." Rose scrunched her nose. Something was off, but she chose not to comment on it.

"Yeah, that's fine." She said, still scrutinizing her friend, and taking the paper from his hand and a quill. "You know someday Scor, you'll realize you can tell me what you're thinking." Scorpius chuckled and ruffled the top of her head.

"Maybe someday." He acquiesced. "But until then, I'll have to just leave you to keep guessing." With that he smiled and left Rose to her thoughts.

**Alright my dear readers! First, let me take the time to say that I appreciate each and every review I receive, and I also am so happy when my email pops up saying more people are favoriting and following this story. It keeps me motivated and interested in the story. So! That being said, keep it up, and I hope you're enjoying the story so far! I don't have much else so, with that, Be prepared for the next chapter, should be up soon! Ciao! **


	5. Trial Run

Of Burns And Scalpels

Trial Run

Rose scratched out the basics on the form she'd been given and hastily scribbled her signature at the bottom.

"Finally." She muttered, swinging her legs over the bed again and gazing around the room. "Now, where are my clothes…" Rose however suddenly remembered that her clothes were probably ruined from all the blood and tears. She sighed in frustration, and was about to throw a right out fit when Albus walked in.

"Erm, am I interrupting?" He asked sheepishly. Rose rolled her eyes, about to cross her arms, when an idea crossed her mind.

"Albus!" She smiled toothily, and Albus took a step back. "I need a favor."

"What kind of favor?" He asked suspiciously. Rose grinned and tilted her head a little.

"I need you to apparate to my flat and grab me a change of clothes _please_." She said, pulling her most innocent face on. Albus paled.

"Oh no." He said. "I am _not_ stepping foot in that room of yours, especially not to get clothes. Can't you just apparate yourself?" He whined. Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Nate isn't going to eat you, you know." Rose said in irritation. "Besides he's too young to do any damage anyway." Albus shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe you actually think that!" Albus said. "He's a baby _dragon_ for goodness sakes! Not a house pet!" Rose snickered at her cousin. She's picked up the little guy at a foreign range a few weeks back and he'd just hatched recently. She already had an appointment to transfer him to the reserve after he reached the age of where he could take care of himself. Which, Rose was happy to find, wouldn't be for at least another month or so. Albus however, was not fond of the little fire spitting creature, which for some unknown reason, found him quite delectable, and tried to bite him every time he stepped foot in the flat.

Surprisingly, the dragon never did any damage to Rose's equipment, furniture, or flat itself. In fact, she was pretty sure it couldn't spit fire, and its claws were very soft for a dragon. She was almost positive it was a new breed. It was white with blue eyes, and it hadn't grown too much since it had hatched, which was also uncommon for a dragon. She had asked her supervisor if he'd ever seen anything like it, but he hadn't. He'd been the one to give her permission to keep it with her for a little while, get it to a point where it could fend for itself, then send it on its way so they could study it.

Rose herself had been researching day and night practically, trying to figure out what breed, if any he was. And if not, what mixture he may be. But as far as she was aware, there was no known breed that matched his description. He was, in a word, unique.

"C'mon Al, please? It will take you like, five minutes. Don't be such a baby." Rose persisted. "I promise it isn't as bad as you're making it out to be." Albus groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Ugh. Fine. You're lucky you're my favorite cousin." Rose smiled and ran over to hug her cousin.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Albus rolled and took a step back.

"I'll be back in a moment." He promised, and he swept out of the room to get to a spot where he could actually apparate.

..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..

Scorpius continued his rounds while he waited for Belinda Warbeck to return to her office so he could make an appointment for Rose. His mind however was in a million other places. He couldn't seem to stop thinking about what Albus had said about his cousin. He and Rose definitely had some chemistry that never could be denied. In school, they were practically inseparable and over the nearly unbearable summers, they wrote almost every day. His parents never dismissed or berated the friendship, and Scorpius never took for granted her kind, generous nature, nor her tenacity, which overrode his ploys more often than not.

However, in school, no one had ever outwardly suggested they should go out, or that Scorpius should buck up and ask her to Hogsmeade. In fact, no one ever really commented on his "love life", so to speak, at all. He'd not really dated in school, (Unless they counted Carrie Harper, but no one really did.) and after he'd been too busy with Healer school to focus on maintaining a serious relationship. Sure, he wanted to settle down, maybe have a family, a wife and kids, but he just hadn't thought about it.

But now, with Albus having said something to him, it was now buzzing about the fore-front of his mind. He wasn't getting any younger, he was to be twenty five in just a few short weeks. He realized with chagrin that he'd been ignorant of his mother's hints at possibly having a lady friend to bring home, and his co-workers teasing's, and well as the endless flirting from patients and associates alike.

Scorpius sighed and shook his head. He'd not had to worry about these things till his addle-brained friend had brought it up. _Now_ that was all he was going to be able to think about!

"Bloody hell, Albus." Scorpius cursed under his breath. "You're not even here and your still spouting nonsense to me." He turned to head into the East corridor when he quite literally ran into Lucy Weasley.

"Ah, yet again we meet Lucy." He teased. Lucy nodded curtly and shifted her weight to one leg, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say.

"Indeed we do, Healer Malfoy." She said. Scorpius chuckled.

"Still sore over what Rose said I see."

"I am _not_ sore!" Lucy protested, her ears flaming red.

"The lady doth protest, too much." Scorpius pointed out gently. Lucy huffed out slightly in annoyance.

"What do you want Scorpius." She said, each word punctuated sharply.

"I think we should take this conversation to another venue." Scorpius replied vaguely, staring behind her. Lucy turned slightly to see what he was staring at, and saw Rose walking out of her room, fully clothed, tugging a very frustrated Albus behind her. She nodded and they pulled into the side room.

"I take it Albus told you about the bet?" Lucy inquired, raising one eyebrow in curiosity.

"You assume correctly." Scorpius said, watching out the observation window as Rose and Albus left the building. "But since I am a creature of great curiosity, I must have a second source to confirm what I've heard. So. Spill. I know you were involved just as much as he was." Lucy blushed and shifted her feet in chagrin.

"Well, honestly it was just for a bit of fun." Lucy said reluctantly. "It didn't start getting serious till my fourth year, your sixth." She began.

"It was James who started it. He put a bet on the table in the Gryffindor common room one night, my first year, your third. He had said, 'I'm betting Rose and Scorpius get together before they leave Hogwarts. I remember our cousin Roxy scoffing that he hadn't been specific enough, and that she expected it by at least your fifth year. My sister had bet that you guys wouldn't notice until two years after school. Albus, why he was in the Gryffindor common room that night was beyond me, bet by seventh year, you two'd be dating. Of course, no one had anticipated how oblivious you two were, well, are, and so most of the bets were placed within the school timeline."

"So what you're saying is," Scorpius said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That you're cousins were betting on Rose and I getting together, even though never, throughout our whole time at Hogwarts, did we even show signs of liking each other like that?"

"Well when you put it _that_ way," Lucy replied. "It sounds pretty awful. But, it wasn't just our cousins after that. That was way in the beginning. When I was a fourth year, the bet took a serious turn." Scorpius wracked his brain to think back to his sixth year, but a lot of it was a blur. And then it hit him.

"You _can't_ be serious." He asked in disbelief.

"Well, you have to admit," Lucy argued in her defense. "Not many people just ask their best friend to the Founder's ball when they have a ton of girls fawning over them, nor does a girl say yes to her best friend when another boy, who mind you, had been flirting with her non-stop all year, asked her an hour before you did." Well that was news to Scorpius.

"Thompson asked her to the dance?" He was flabbergasted. He remembered Rose and Darryl Thompson that year _quite_ vividly. More than he liked to admit really. But she hadn't actually dated the boy. Rose had never mentioned that someone else had asked her, or even indicated it when he'd apparently asked her later that day. He remembered her eyes, dancing with excitement and her rather enthused "Of course!" And that had been it. She never said, "Someone else has already asked me", or, "I'm sorry Scor, but I've said yes to someone already", or even "Oh, I didn't think you were going to ask me and I said yes to Darryl." Rose hadn't said anything at all, except a squeal of excitement as she went upstairs to plan out her outfit. (**A/N:** _For those of you who have read my short story and seen my picture on Deviantart, this is an unrelated event, please keep that in mind. :])_

He'd been quite proud of that until now. Now he felt slightly put off.

"Yes," Lucy said. "But Rose told him she would have to think about it." That caught Scorpius's attention.

"Think about it?" Scorpius pried. Lucy nodded and was about to reply when the door opened and one of the Healers from the next shift poked his head in.

"Healer Malfoy, Ms. Warbeck is ready to see you, then after that your five o' clock appointment is here in room 1142B."

"Thanks Reginald." Scorpius said, watching as the small man disappeared. He turned back to Lucy.

"This conversation's not over." He noted Lucy's frustrated expression.

"I figured as much, but my shifts done in an hour, and it seems like you have quite a bit to do." She replied smugly. Scorpius groaned.

"Till later than!" Lucy said happily, sliding out of the room and skipping along. Scorpius shook his head in disbelief.

"Weasleys." He grumbled beneath his breath.

**Well hello again my readers! Thank you all so much for keeping up with the story, I know I'm a bit behind with my updates, some things came up that I wasn't anticipating, but, I digress. Anyhow. Here is the chapter that I've been working on lately, I have one more and that should be it for this week. I hope you're enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. I apologize if right now it doesn't seem like there's much ScorRose action going on, that stuff is going to be slow coming, I want this story to draw out a bit. Both Rose and Scorpius have things hidden in them that need to be coaxed out so to speak, but once they are, well, all hell will break loose.**

**Until next time!**


	6. Rumors and Snitches

Of Burns And Scalpels

Rumors and Snitches

Rose collapsed on her couch as soon as she shut the door to her flat. She didn't even kick off her shoes, or untie her hair. She just laid her head back and closed her eyes, taking in the natural smells that enveloped her flat. Usually her house smelled of an assortment of dragon foods and an assortment of tropical plants, that, had she not cast the appropriate enchantments, would have been long since dead.

She heard a snort and a snuffling noise to her right and she opened her one eye to glance to the side.

"Oh, Nate!" She said, scooping up the little dragon and pressing him to her chest. "Did my little baby get a surprise visitor today? Yes he did! Uncle Albus!" She cooed, patting his head gently. The little dragon snorted again and burrowed its head into the crook of her shoulder, making a gentle humming sound.

"My, you are so much like my old cat." Rose commented, lightly caressing the scaled creature. "I'll have you know, you are so much more spoiled though. And I _still_ haven't figured out what you are… At this rate, we're going to have to come up with a breed name for you! And you still haven't grown an inch!" The little dragon blinked at her and Rose laughed.

"Of course, I am talking to a dragon that wouldn't understand what I was saying anyway…" She rolled her eyes and stood up, stretching.

"I suppose I should get to doing something productive." She said, looking around her flat. It was relatively clean. There was a box in the corner that she knew Nate was very fond of. She had tried to move it one time. She never did it again. She walked into her room and began to pick up her stray clothes that were splattered across the floor.

Halfway through cleaning her mess up, a tap came at her window. Confused, she straightened out and pulled the curtains aside. An owl was on the sill, tapping her window. A small scroll was tied to its leg.

"An owl this late?" She said to herself, opening the window. It hopped in and chirped at her happily. She untied the paper and handed the bird a treat, which then turned and flew back out the window and into the night. She shrugged and untied the little paper, quickly unrolling it.

_Rose Weasley,_

_You have an appointment with Belinda Warbeck for Magical Malady Therapy, Tuesday the third of October. Please remember to attend at 0900. If there are extenuating circumstances to which you cannot attend the session, please reschedule through the help desk. Hours are 0500 to 2100 for Appointments. Intentional dismissal of this appointment or ignoring the appointed date will result in the appropriate consequences,_

_Wishing you a speedy recovery,_

_ Belinda Warbeck, Head of Magical Malady Therapy._

Rose rolled her eyes. Trust Scorpius to set her up an appointment just as he said he would. She was about to put the letter down when she noticed another letter was attached to it. She pulled it from the other and read:

_Rose,_

_I know you, and I know you're going to try to avoid this appointment. If you do, Just know, you will be getting a personal visit from a very irritated healer and you will wish you had just done the therapy._

_ Yours truly,_

_ Scorpius_

Rose for a moment seriously considered intentionally missing the appointment, just to see Scorpius's enraged face when he had to come get her. She did so enjoy teasing the man. He hardly ever had time for fun anymore. He needed to loosen up a little bit. But, Rose didn't want to cause _too_ much trouble, so she marked the time on her calendar and pinned the letters to her corkboard. Better not to invoke Scorpius's temper when she'd just gotten in such a bad accident.

Rose yawned and took a look at her room. The bed was still rumpled for the morning time, and it looked truly inviting. She heard a low humming sound and looked down to see the little dragon she harbored winding in between her legs.

"Alright, alright." She conceded, walking out of the room. "Let's get you fed you little pig. Then I really need to get some sleep. There was a lot going on today."

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Albus sighed as he sat down at his desk. He had just one more file to finish out and then he could go home for the night. And rightly so, he was exhausted. After nearly having a heart attack with Rose and a very busy day at work, he was ready to call it a night. And he hadn't gotten everything done that he'd wanted to do that day, but hey, not everything could go his way.

He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes for a moment. He had planned to tell Rose about Alice, then listen to her squeal for ten to fifteen minutes. Then he was going to ask her to go to dinner with him so they could catch up, insist she get away from her bloody house for a bit (And away from the dragon, goodness his cousin was daft) and possibly get her to consider going out with her friends again. Rose was a downright recluse these days, and hardly ever left the reserve, or her house. Instead, he checked her out of the hospital, helped her get some fast food, and dropped her off at her house, where she told him she was tired and they would catch up later. He suspected it was because she didn't want a lecture on how irresponsible she was when it came to dragons.

Now though…

Albus spun his chair around and pondered what had happened earlier that day, while he was talking to Scorpius, and then Rose. The man had been surprised at the bet, but Albus felt like Scorpius had been thinking about it while he explained it. He also felt that Scorpius felt more than he was letting on. He knew his best friend pretty well, well enough to know when he was being intentionally distant. He remembered bringing up Rose more than enough times when they were in school, insisting that there had to be _something_ there, but the most he ever did was allow a small blush to settle across his cheeks, mumble a bit, and redirect the conversation to something else (Usually Quidditch, which he knew would distract Albus very quickly).

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Frustrated about something?" Albus spun around in his chair and faced the door.

"Alice!" He said in surprise. "What are you, how'd you get in my office?" Alice laughed and Albus felt his indignation slowly disappear.

"Relax, your door was open. Besides, you told me you'd let me know what was going on tonight, and instead, I was left wondering. So, here I am to give you a piece of my mind." She sauntered towards him and sat directly in his lap, flipping her light brown hair over her shoulder.

"I know, I know." Albus sighed. "I'm terrible when it comes to remembering some things." Alice rolled her eyes and nuzzled her face into Albus's hair.

"It's fine Al, I'm more than used to it now." She said enthusiastically. "But, I did want to ask, did you manage to tell Rose?" Albus shook his head.

"Nah, ended up just taking her straight home after she got released from St. Mungo's. But, I did end up telling Scorpius."

"Oooh Scor knows now?" Alice asked. Alice and Scorpius had become quick friends during potions in first year, when Scorpius had accidentally put a half a cup of anarch beetles in his potion rather than a fourth, and it began to blow over. Alice had quickly helped him carry the cauldron to the sink before it overflowed onto the floor. From thence forth, they'd agreed to be potions partners and had become good friends from that point on. Alice, by chance, had also pooled into the bet, and was the current winner, having bet that the two would go out before Rose turned twenty five. (Which was two months after Scorpius turned the same age) She was running out of time on the bet however, being Scorpius was turning twenty five in a few short weeks, and Rose was following behind quickly.

"Yeah, let it slip to him on accident." Albus admitted thoughtfully. "Though, I think that our conversation today may have brought a new wave of interest to light." Alice tilted her head curiously at the ex-Ravenclaw student.

"What are you cooking up Albus Severus Potter?" She asked suspiciously. "It better not involve anything dangerous like last time."

"Hey, he deserved it." Albus pointed out. Alice rolled her eyes and stared at Albus, awaiting his great explanation.

..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::.. 

Scorpius cursed under his breath. His patient had taken longer than he'd anticipated, having a rather obnoxious out-spurting of feathers that couldn't be banished by normal means and were molting in droves across his floor. Instead of a five minute task, it had turned into an hour, and he had an inkling Lucy wasn't going to stick around to give him the rest of his conversation.

True to his thoughts, he couldn't find the girl anywhere, and when he asked the desk clerk, was told that she'd signed out for the night.

"Figures." He mumbled, making his way back to his office. He was almost done with his shift himself, and he knew he'd have plenty of time to ask her what was going on at a later date. He walked into his office and collapsed in the chair, pulling some of the papers on his desk towards himself. A few appointment rosters, patient reports and a malady list, all requiring his signature. He sighed and placed his forehead on his desk, ignoring the ticking of the clock behind him.

"Long day Scorpius?" Scorpius jolted back up so quickly that a few of his papers came up with him, sticking to his forehead. He cleared his throat and removed them, placing them neatly back on his desk. It was Natasha.

"Oh." Was all he said. Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"Since you have some free time," Natasha said, helping herself to the seat across his desk. "I figured I would come by and have that chat I've been meaning to have with you." Scorpius didn't reply. He was pretty sure he already knew what Natasha wanted to say, and he was pretty sure he already knew the exact words he was going to have to give her. But, he didn't like to assume, so he sat silently, an eyebrow perked up in curiosity, waiting for her to get to her point. Natasha cleared her throat and crossed her legs in a very provocative manner.

"Scor, I've been waiting quite patiently these past few months, years even." Natasha said briskly, her tone suggesting she'd known exactly what she was going to say, almost as if she'd rehearsed it. "But I haven't noticed not even one bit of interest. Now, I'm a patient woman. I know what I want and I don't play tricks to get it. I know you are a very thorough person and very… personable." She waited a moment, and when Scorpius didn't indicate any response she continued.

"What is really bothering me is that you're not dating anyone, and yet I throw you hints all the time," Her voice began to get whiny, a trait Scorpius recognized from their school days, one that always appeared right before she made her full come on very apparent, as if it weren't already. "And you _still_ don't notice me! I mean, here I am, this smart, pretty girl who adores you, and you're just so… so… indifferent!" She was huffing now, and Scorpius had to suppress the urge to laugh. But before he could even begin to enjoy what she was throwing at him for entertainment, she threw him a bomb.

"I mean, it's almost like you're in love with that Weasley girl, the one who keeps on coming here acting all injured. I mean, honestly, _who_ gets injured that often? Burns and bites and slashes? She obviously hasn't learned to be more careful-"

"That's enough Natasha." Natasha cut off and Scorpius realized he was standing up, his fists clenched and his lips set in a hard line. He didn't take well to people taking jibes at his friends, especially when they didn't know them.

"Oh, did I hit a soft spot behind that emotionless exterior?" Natasha goaded, fluttering her eyelashes. "My, my, who'd have thought you'd actually want such a girl."

"And _what_ exactly is wrong with Rose?" Scorpius asked, meaning the question to be rhetorical. "I know for one thing, Natasha, I would much rather date Rose than I would you. She's kind, smart, and she isn't at all conniving. I thought that you'd have figured out by now that I'm just _not _interested in you. But you continue to harass me as if it will change my mind, and then you intentionally bash my friends to my face, mind you, I have an abundance of patience that cannot be measured by someone as small minded as you seemingly are, not realizing that perhaps these things were not going to get you very far in your argument to begin with." He sneered. Natasha blinked in surprise, but it seemed Scorpius was not quite finished.

"I don't know what I have to do to get you off my back Natasha, or at least I didn't, but I think I've just come to an epiphany." He said, his eyes brightening. "Perhaps you need me to be intentionally cruel to you instead of being the naturally patient and kind man I usually am. Maybe you need to hear the cold hard truth. And that truth is, I don't like you. I don't want to be with you, and no amount of you flirting or vying for my attention is going to change that. And for the record, Rose may not be my girl, but I know for damn sure if she was, she'd be a thousand times better than you could ever hope to be. Now, if you'll excuse me." And with that, Scorpius left his office, leaving a very cross Natasha in his wake.

**Well, phew, this chapter took some coming up with. I have a ton of ideas but they don't tie in till quite later in the story, which is kind of unfortunate, but I will keep working to bring you all the updates you deserve!**

**I'd also like to give thanks to my reviewers, favoriters, and followers. As I say most every time, you guys motivate me to continue writing and coming up with more ideas to keep you entertained. I want to bring to light a new side. I, like most of you, read a lot of fanfiction, and I tend to see a lot of patterns. And while I'm not original in all of my ideas (Scorpius being a healer, or the next gen trio all being in the same house, etc etc) I try to bring something new to the table with the story, while giving you a background in what happened in the past so you can get a look at what correlates with it in the future. So! Thank you guys so much, your reviews make me smile each time I read them and I look forward to reading more!**

**Peace out!**


	7. Plots and Presents

Of Burns And Scalpels

Plots and Presents

Albus smiled at Alice and she cocked an eyebrow in amusement. Whenever Albus plotted anything involving his cousins, it usually ended in a lot of hexes and backfiring. But he couldn't help but continue to do so, and that's one of the reasons Alice had had a crush on him so long. An unreciprocated one it had seemed.

"Alright, so listen closely, 'cause I'm only gonna say it once." He teased, tapping her nose. "And you have to promise not to say anything to either of them, otherwise it will ruin the entire plan and it will have become utterly worthless!" Alice rolled her eyes at Albus's exaggeration, but made no comment other than, "I promise."

"Right, so, my master plan, put simply, is to get Scorpius and Rose together before the year's out. That's just the bigger picture." His eyes gleamed and Alice sensed a piece of Albus that she hadn't felt since their last year at Hogwarts. He was planning something big. But it wouldn't seem that way to anyone until it had already been implemented. And with plans like that, Albus never failed, it was always a complete success. "The way we're gonna do it is going to be absolutely spectacular."

"We?" Alice asked curiously. Albus looked at her sheepishly, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger.

"Well you didn't think I could possibly think to do this all on my own, did you?" He explained, his mischievous smirk on his face.

"Well, you _do _need a fantastic mind such as my own to even contemplate a plan as devious as I think you're planning." She simpered, smirking at her boyfriend flirtatiously. Albus blushed.

"Alright, alright, now." His face became a mixture of seriousness and mischief. "This is what I was thinking. Since neither Rose nor Scorpius seem to want to admit that they are quite smitten towards one another, we're going to get them to do just that. But, we're not going to let it be an easy run." Alice tilted her head. That didn't sound too mischeivious. Unless you somehow managed to get Rose to endure some sort of injury or sickness that would land her in St. Mungo's for a bit so she couldn't leave. Then, Scorpius would be her doctor, and they'd be forced to face each other after years of practically no contact. Alice smacked her forhead.

"Erm, Alright there?" Albus asked curiously, eyeing his girlfriend carefully.

"Albus, why didn't I think of it before!" She exclaimed, a new glint in her eyes. "I'm a _potions_ master for goodness sakes! Why didn't _you_ think of it before!"

"Think of what?" Albus wondered aloud, but Alice didn't seem to be listening to him.

"What's the one reason why Rose and Scorpius haven't realized that they really like each other?" Alice asked Albus. Albus scratched his head.

"Well I'd attribute it to the fact that they hardly ever see one another." Albus replied slowly. "You can't exactly face a crush if it doesn't see you a lot. Though, they do see each other almost every week you know, Rose is such a klutz, on top of it, like I was saying earlier, I already talked to Scorpius and I think I got _him_ thinking about…" Albus trailed off for a moment and it was as if the gears in his brain had stopped dead, and then began to run in reverse.

"Awww Alice! You're a genius!" Albus said happily. "All we have to do is get Rose an extended stay at St. Mungo's! Duh! Why hadn't I thought of that?" Albus pulled Alice close to him and kissed her cheek, making her blush.

"Why weren't you in Slytherin you cunning creature!" He purred. Alice giggled and tapped his nose.

"Because I actually have the _guts_ of a Gryffindor." She replied. Albus rolled his eyes and smiled a wide, fiendish grin.

"Now, we need to plan." He said. "Scorpius is very smart. He'll see through any potions that are the norm or are commonplace. But it can't be dangerous either, and it has to be tasteless so Rose doesn't suspect it-" Alice stood up and ruffled Albus's head.

"Already got you covered." She said, sending him a wink. "Leave it to me. I have the perfect potion. I'll start tonight and hand deliver it to Rose myself. Then, you're going to come visit her and insist she take a trip to St. Mungo's. Once she does, Scorpius will start taking care of her, and well, it should all fall into place from there." She smirked and crossed her arms. "And of course, I'll make a counter potion and let it somehow _slip_ into Healer Malfoy's possession when no one else can quite figure out what's wrong…" Albus stood up and kissed Alice full on the lips, effectively ending her little shpeal.

"Fantastic." He said. "Now that we have the beginnings of a wonderful plan on the way, might I invite you to a lovely dinner with me tomorrow evening, say seven? I say we celebrate your genius and my clever mind." Alice giggled and nodded, embracing him quickly.

"Why, I'd be delighted." She replied.

..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::...::..::..::..::. .::..

Rose laid quietly on her bed, listening to the low hum Nate made as he swirled along the base of her bed, unable to assuage his excitement that she was actually home. She smiled and sighed out a long breath. It was good to be home. It was peaceful there. Her mother often fretted that she spent too much time either at the reserve or in her house, but Rose found solace in both places. More so than she did anywhere else. They were her heart, her soul. She felt comforted, safe even. Nothing could quite explain the serenity she had there.

Nate swiveled and burrowed into her sheets making little snuffling noises. Rose chuckled and stroked the creature.

"Are you ready for bed yet?" she asked the dragon, who fixated his gaze on her and cocked his head to the side. "Because believe it or not, I'm quite worn out, and would like to sleep." The little dragon began to circle again and Rose sighed.

"Such a child, you are." She said fondly. She laid on her back and stared at the ceiling, which, inspired by the place she'd learned all her magic, was bewitched to look like the sky above their heads. The stars shone brightly and almost twinkled in the midnight purple night. She smiled softly, feeling her eyes growing heavy despite the activity on her side. She closed her eyes and a rush of dark surrounded her. Peace. Quiet. All she could hear was the soft humming of her dragon and her own breath. All was still.

Somewhere in the darkness, a soft light intricately weaved before her eyes. Colors, bright and fluent with her vision. She could see so much.

In this vision there was a garden. Small, quaint, plants of various sizes and colors spattered strategically across the plot. The wind was brisk and the small leaves and petals of the blossoms fluttered in the wind. She realized she was standing in it, admiring it in a blue sundress that she didn't recognize. Where was she?

Briefly, she entertained the idea that this was a premonition of sorts. A vision of what would come to be. She felt a lightness about herself, happiness. Like she was flying, without the fear of falling to the ground.

"You know I'm right." Rose spun around and faced the familiar voice. Her cousin Lucy, clad in a short red dress stood before her, her eyes bright, and her face matured. Rose quirked an eyebrow.

"Right?" Rose questioned "Right about what?" Lucy smiled, her face mysterious, quite unusual for her cousin.

"About you and him of course." Lucy smirked at Rose.

"Me and… Me and who?" Rose spun around however and saw a man, hair as fair as the sun, tending to the garden with great care. Her face settled into a light blush as she watched him, unwilling to admit that as of late, she'd missed seeing him so happy. Her visits to the hospital were usually hectic, little humor involved, and she always stepped out before they could really have time to catch up. She was chagrined to realize she'd been avoiding him. And she knew the reason why.

..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::.. ::..

Scorpius avoided running into Natasha again before his shift officially ended, but it seemed he didn't have to try too hard, something he was pleased about. He had hoped this time, she'd understand that he wasn't interested in her.

_If not her…_ A voice nagged in the back of his head, sounding frustratingly like Albus Severus Potter. _Then who _are_ you interested in?_

Scorpius sighed and shoved the thoughts to the back of his mind. He didn't have the time to be thinking about these things. And even if he did have the time, there was no way he was going to spend it dwelling on things that weren't likely to be. Especially that.

_Ah, But didn't Albus say something about that?_ The voice continued. Scorpius groaned, frustrated that he couldn't seem to push the subtle hints from his brain.

"Done for the hour Healer Malfoy?" Scorpius turned and nodded at the head healer.

"All the paperwork is complete, patients are cared for. If there's nothing else, I think I'll be going for the night." Healer Rossi squinted at him carefully, as if he was scrutinizing him.

"You seem to be a little off today, Scorpius." He said slowly. "Is there something going on personally that we should be concerned about? We don't want anything getting in the way of your healing. Scorpius quickly shook his head.

"It's nothing I can't handle." Scorpius promised. "Just a little bit much going on today. Some rest with a little peace and quiet should more than suffice. The healer observed him for a moment more, then nodded.

"Alright, go on, your shift ended ages ago. Get out of here before I give you an extra shift." He joked. Scorpius smirked and mock saluted, heading out the doors as quickly as he could. He Dissaparated on the spot and quickly went into his flat, shutting the door and exhaling in relief.

He slipped out of his shoes and walked straight to his bed, laying down fully clothed and just breathing in the scent of familiarity. He sighed and got back up, heading straight to the shower, allowing the warm water to release the tension in his muscles and wash away the stresses of the day. Nothing felt better than that. It was the way he relaxed, set himself down for the night, it helped him fall into a deep sleep.

But for some reason, though he was almost sure he knew the reason, he felt restless, unable to concentrate on the tasks that usually made up his routine. He was fighting to keep himself focused, but found himself getting irritated instead.

"I give up!" He cried, scowling heavily. "Curse you Albus Potter. Why do you and your cousin have to run free range around my head?"

**Ah! So it seems Scorpius is having some girl trouble! But unlike Rose, he seems to be attributing it to anything **_**else**_** rather than just accepting that's what it is. But! He will come to that conclusion soon enough! So here's the first update of the weekend, may you enjoy! I will be dancing the night away tonite so I will try to stay sober enough to write more excellent words for you all to enjoy! . Have fun and keep on reading!**


	8. Feelings Released

Of Burns And Scalpels

Feelings released

Rose looked down at her feet, now unable to look her cousin in the eye.

"That was unfair, what you said today." Rose said pointedly, still not looking up to meet her cousin's gaze. "You haven't always been there Luce. You don't understand."

"Well to be more truthful," Lucy answered, her tone quiet. "What you threw back was also unfair." Rose did not reply, the blush deepening on her face. Instead, she turned to face the blond man again, her expression a cross between sadness and chagrin. He continued to tend to the garden as if there was no one else there, as if there was nothing but the soft wind and the tinkling of the leaves.

"Scorpius and I are just friends." Rose finally said slowly. "I… I…"

"You what Rose?" Lucy asked, her eyebrow quirked up. "Can't even find a reason, can you? We all know what happened sixth year. Why you and Scorpius suddenly became silent and eventually faded off. We all saw it, but for the longest time, we weren't sure what it was that had caused it…"

"That's in the past Luce." Rose snapped, her arms crossed defensively across her chest.

"Exactly. Stop living in the past Rose!" Lucy replied. Rose recoiled. Lucy's face was impassive as she stared down the curly red headed girl. Rose wasn't ready to back down however.

"It's not just about the past Lucy." Rose retorted, her blush settling out. "There's so much more to it than that!"

"Then what Rose?" Lucy pried; circling her cousin like a hawk would its prey, observing her. "What is it that is getting in the way of something that obviously makes you happy?"

"We're just friends." Rose reiterated, her voice starting to show a tone of doubt. Lucy stopped at her side.

"Do you really only just want to be friends?" She whispered. Rose spun to stare at her cousin but found that her cousin was gone. In fact, everything was gone. There was no garden, no Scorpius, and she seemed to be floating in a great bank of nothingness. Black. But calm. For a moment, she took in the silence, used it to ground her, to calm her nerves and soothe her soul. Lucy always did know how to pry into Rose's personal life, especially when she refused to tell anyone what had actually happened sixth year after the founder's ball. And with that, Lucy always managed to ruffle Rose to the point of terrible embarrassment and discomfort, not that she didn't send it right back, sometimes worse than she was given it.

"Rose! Rose!" A voice called. Rose spun around, her eyes wide. Before her, was Hogwarts, the scene, all too familiar.

_Sixth of busy students running around in attempts to study, make new friends, or in some cases, make mischief. Rose walked to her next class, eyes down, reading the words on the page that she'd read many times before, but wanted to be sure she had them imprinted on her brain. She was quite good at maneuvering the corridors at Hogwarts, knowing where it would be the most congested and where it would be peaceful a walk. Today her class happened to be at the end of a very congested hallway, so there was talk everywhere, girls giggling, boys' hearty laughs and soft whispers. The thump of students' heels that were late to their lessons._

_ "Rose!" Rose lifted her nose from the book she was immersed in and turned around, only to come face to face with Darryl Thompson, a Hufflepuff sixth year with whom she shared charms for the past five years. Tall and slightly lanky, the boy was tan with bright hazel eyes and a smile that often dazzled many of the girls in the castle regardless of their age. He and Rose were always on good terms, so she smiled and waved at him as he grinned back at her._

_ "Rose!" He said. "I'm glad I caught you. Could I have a moment?" Rose tilted her head in curiousity._

_ "Of course Darryl." She said. "We have plenty of time, here, let's get out of the way." She tugged on his sleeve and pulled him to the side of the corridor, nearly against the wall, and turned to look at him expectantly._

_ "So, what's on your mind?" She asked. Darryl looked on sheepishly for a moment, but seemed to steady himself rather quickly._

_ "Well," He began, swallowing quickly. "There's been a lot of talk about the whole, you know, founder's ball that's in a few weeks. Well, I was wondering, I mean, it would be a great honor, if maybe you'd like to go with me?" Rose let her mouth drop. She couldn't help it. That was __**not**__ what she was expecting him to say. Not at all. Darryl Thompson, pretty boy of the school just asked __**her**__ to the founder's ball. Rose Weasley._

_ "I- uh, I-" She stammered. __**Well that was smooth, Rose.**__ She thought. __**Way to go and ruin a perfect response with your big mouth**__. But something else was bothering her. There was a little voice in the back of her head that was telling her to say no. That little voice in the back of her head always had to do with one person, and one person only, and she'd never come straight out and admit it, but she was very much smitten with him, and in saying yes to Darryl… It would be betraying the little voice._

_ But then there was the other side to Rose's mind, which was telling her to ignore the voice and say yes. It wasn't every day Darryl Thompson asked a girl to the founder's ball for Merlin's sake!_

_ In the end, Rose did what she always did. Blurt out the little voice's opinion before she could even think to do anything else._

_ "I don't think that's going to work." Rose blurted out. Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth, staring at Darryl apologetically, but he merely looked confused._

_ "I'm sorry?" He asked. Rose shook her head._

_ "I'd love to go with you Darryl," Rose said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I just can't say yes right now." There. At least she'd edited it a little bit. It was vague, but it would do._

_ "Is there someone else?" He asked, his face suddenly melancholy. Rose hesitated._

_ "I can't say right now." Rose hedged. "Please just, do me a favor? If I don't give you a response in the next few days, ask me again?" Darryl's expression turned hopeful and he smiled, all semblance of discouragement disappearing._

_ "Alright," He replied. "But know, I intend to take the loveliest girl in Hogwarts to the ball. I'll be waiting." He smiled and headed off to charms, leaving Rose in his wake._

..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::.. 

Scorpius settled on his couch with a mug of hot chocolate, unable to shake his restlessness enough that he could sleep. He sighed and sipped it slowly, his thoughts churning towards other things.

He was alone now in his little flat, no one nagging him, telling him to clean or to do his homework. He didn't have much studying to do and he was relatively neat. He hardly ever had company (Save for Albus, who felt it was his sworn duty to wake Scorpius up at the crack of dawn every free day he had) and his little place was often quiet. Nothing there but him and his stuff. Quaint, small, and just for him. He sighed again.

Now that he had time to think, he turned his thoughts to what his goals were. A mental checklist, so to speak. He hadn't looked at it in quite some time, so it took him a bit of time to recall it.

_Step one,_ He thought, _Become a healer and shoot to become one of the best._ Well, he had that almost completely checked off. He wasn't the _best_ healer, (Despite arguments against it.) but he was well on his way to being as such. Quite an achievement for someone his age. Though, that could mostly be attributed to his frequent patients, Rose and Albus. He smiled at that thought, recalling times where a very disgruntled Albus had made his way into St. Mungo's, carrying some kind of curse or spell with him that, though not amusing to him, was the joke of the day to everyone else. And Rose, well, he avoided that milestone. That was one that had its own separate list attached.

_Step two,_ He continued, _Ensure parents are taken care of and financial burdens are secured._ Now that too he had completed. His parents already had quite the dowry on their own, his mother coming from a well off family and well, his father wasn't necessarily a poor man after the war, and were well on enough to care for themselves. But Scorpius always put aside a small amount of money just in case, that way he was prepared to help them, no matter what it was.

_Step three…_ He trailed off, realizing that his third step had been pushed off after school. He hadn't pursued that goal in almost five years. Ever since they'd left Hogwarts, and hadn't spoken of that one fateful night where it seemed like… like nothing would ever just work out for them. Him and her. It was like an endless circle of questions, but no answers. Hopes, but no fulfillments. Just pain. But he had always, and he found that even now it still resided within him, harbored a hope that someday…

He cut off his thoughts abruptly and shut his eyes tightly. No. He wouldn't think about it. Not right now. That would more than ruin his night. He wouldn't be able to sleep if he continued these thoughts. Forcing himself to stand up, he walked into his bedroom and changed into some basic gym shorts and a t-shirt, and, locking the door behind him, ran off into the night.

...::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::. .

Alice dropped her belongings on her couch and quickly made her way into her small kitchen. She had to start the potion right away if she wanted it to be done by morning, and she already knew right when Rose would leave her flat the next day. All she had to do was show up a tad bit early, drop some of the potion in her morning coffee (Which wasn't hard, Rose wasn't the suspicious type, and despite having been in Ravenclaw, lacked common sense that would instigate the suspicion to begin with.) and be on her way. Albus would then make a surprise visit to the office before she started work, and insist she go to St. Mungo's. It was full proof. As long as Scorpius didn't catch on to their little plot, or figure out a cure before she could slip him a hint. She smirked. Unlikely with a fiery hot red head to distract him all day long.

How devious she and Albus were.

**I'm really sorry for the late update you guys! I have been preparing to transfer to San Diego and I've been trying to get my stuff in order, which is pretty hectic but! No excuses!**

**I would like to again thank all of you for your favorites, reviews and follows. I logged onto my email and almost died of joy at seeing how many people really enjoy my story and are looking forward to updates (That my lazy butt haven't gotten to yet… sorry!) and I'm glad you are still loving the story so far! Right now, I'm just trying to get a little bit of their past out in the open so we know why Rose and Scorpius haven't already gotten together. :} So keep on watching for the next few chapters! Au revoir!**


	9. In Sickness and Health

Of Burns and Scalpels

In Sickness and Health

Alice rushed across the street, her heels clicking furiously. She was a little behind schedule, the little potion hadn't finished quite when she'd expected, and she'd been rushing about all morning in an effort to get prepared to implement the first part of the plan. But, she couldn't very well do that if Rose left her flat before she got there. The potion needed at least an hour to settle in her stomach, and drinking it at work could cause an accident to occur, and Rose had had enough Dragon-caused accidents to last her a little bit of time. The way Alice saw it, she really was doing Rose _two_ favors. One, getting her some quality time with her favorite healer, and two, getting her a break from her inevitable accident waiting to happen at her work place.

She arrived at Rose's door and rapped on the wood a few times, patiently standing outside her door looking as meticulous as she could manage. It wouldn't do to look frazzled. Rose may not be as observant as most, but she would spot something amiss with Alice from a mile away.

Rose opened the door looking fairly forlorn and groggy. Nate was wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl, humming softly. Alice smiled and scratched the little creature's head.

"Hello there Nate, long time no see." She turned her attention back to Rose, who looked to be rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Alice quirked up an eyebrow in amusement.

"Late morning Rose?" She asked, sidestepping the groggy girl and walking briskly to her counter.

"Yeah…" Rose grumbled. "Weird dreams. Couldn't sleep. Think I'm gonna be a little off my game today." Alice sent a stern look at Rose that was ignored.

"Are you telling me you're actually going to try to work with the dragons when you feel tired? Do you have no semblance of safety?" Rose rolled her eyes and took down two mugs. Alice popped into her home at least twice a month, so she was used to this little part of the routine. Alice slid the cups towards herself, sending another look at Rose.

"Go shower, I'll make your tea. Extra sugar and a hint of raspberry?" Rose smiled and nodded.

"Thanks Alice, you're the best." She said, hurrying off. Alice waited until she heard the shower water running to slip the potion into Rose's tea. She stirred it lightly, humming under her breath and listened for the cut off of the water. She felt something slither between her ankles, humming, and she smiled down at her feet.

"Well aren't you just Mr. Sunshine, Nate?" She said, scratching the top of his head. "Did you wake your mummy up this morning?"

"That he did, pass the tea? I'm going to be late for work at the rate I'm going." Alice oblidged and Rose sipped on the tea, a peaceful expression settling on her face.

"Man, you always make the best teas." Rose said, smiling. "Why do I have you as such an amazing friend?" Alice smiled, trying to hide her guilty face. If Rose found out she'd slipped something into her drink…

"Well you know, you've always been there for me. But hey, you've been distancing yourself quite a bit! From everyone, really. I think we should have some girl time. We're a tad bit overdue don't you think?" Rose looked pointedly at the floor, spinning her mug and not replying immediately. Alice cocked her head at the redhead.

"You're right Alice." Rose said. "We do need to have some girl time. Maybe after work today?" Rose looked at her friend sheepishly and Alice smiled. Bingo.

"Of course!" She gushed, rushing to hug her friend. "You can tell me all about work, and any boys in your life-"

"_Alice!"_ Rose replied incredulously, trying hard not to laugh. "You know I'm single. If I wasn't everyone on the planet would be on it!" Alice laughed.

"Yes, yes, my mistake." Alice beamed, a sly smile slipping onto her face. _But not for much longer…_ Rose glanced at her watch and her eyes became large and round.

"Oh my, I have to go! I will see you tonight Alice, say seven?" She said gathering her belongings in a bag and slinging it over her shoulder. Alice collected her things and followed Rose out the door.

"Seven it is." She agreed. "Don't be late!" Rose nodded and disapperated. Alice waited a moment, then turned heel and followed suit.

..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..

Scorpius checked into his office about an hour early to try to get some work done. His night had been a little more exciting than he would have liked and it made it hard for him to get his major pains, also known as paperwork, done and out of sight, due to his fatigue. But knowing his schedule, he'd never get it done on normal working hours. Therefore, he was here, early, with nothing better to do than sign everything sitting on his desk. While uninterrupted. By anyone.

"Scorpius!"

Except Lucy. The fiery Weasley girl, looking fairly worse for wear and slightly angry, stomped into his office and shut the door. Her face was fire truck red, which, in Weasley terms, was a tell-tale sign that now, not only did he have to tread carefully, but he had to do it with a stick of dynamite in his hands.

"Lucy, I know whatever it is I probably rightly deserve it, but I'm technically not on the clock right now, so can this wait?" He asked, keeping his tone neutral. But Lucy seemed to ignore the words coming out of his mouth.

"Scorpius, can you _please_ tell me what you said to make Natasha go completely ape on the entire female staff, curse out an administrator, and then write _this_" She said, holding up a flyer. "And post it everywhere in the Institution?" Scorpius's face went pale as his eyes observed what was on the page. Lucy tapped her foot.

"All over the institution?" He repeated in a small voice, feeling quite faint. Lucy nodded curtly and crossed her arms.

"I know you don't have it in you to be mean to her, so I want to know what you did to set her off this much. Did you make out with someone in the hallway? Lead her on and let her down? She's psycho and I-"

"Lucy." Scorpius interrupted. "You're incorrect in assuming I haven't a mean bone in my body. I gave her quite a telling off yesterday. That's why she's being this way. She's lashing out just like she always does." He stood up and took the paper from Lucy's hand, banishing it to his wastebin.

"Show me where she is. Obviously she needs things to be a little more clear." Lucy led Scorpius down a few floors and down to the healer training workcenter. Sure enough, Natasha was sitting, brooding, in a corner, shooting nasty looks at the other training healers. Her face was bunched up and Scorpius couldn't help but feel that this didn't help her case at all.

He opened the door and everyone turned around to look at the new visitors. A few of the females looked angrily at Scorpius but for the most part there were smiles on their faces and blushes on their cheeks. Why in the world were all the new training healers girls?

"I'm sorry to interrupt Hartsford," Scorpius said, sending an apologetic look at his fellow healer. "But I need to speak to Miss Malkovich right now. She won't be missing anything vital will she?" The healer shook his head.

"No, she's just shadowing anyway. I expect you back in a timely fashion Healer Malkovich." Natasha barely acknowledged the healer in charge of the class and clicked out of the room rather quickly. Scorpius closed the door, and gave Natasha a stern look.

"Come with me. Don't talk, don't do anything. You will follow." Natasha kept her lips clamped together as he led her and Lucy back to his office, where he promptly shut the door and cast the muffliato spell.

"I have nothing to say to you." Natasha sneered, her face still scrunched in irritation. Scorpius raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Sit down Natasha. We obviously need to have a talk. Because apparently, me telling you I'm not interested did not develop into your head as something that perhaps you should be mature about. Instead, as I should have expected I suppose, you turned it into yet another drama filled escapade at which everyone is pulled into and will walk away expecting everyone else to clean up behind you." Natasha opened her mouth to interrupt but Lucy sent a hateful stare her way and she shut it quite she recovered.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Natasha said, pointing a finger at the Weasley. "This is a private conversation, it has nothing to do with her."

"One, Miss Malkovich," Lucy said, her voice hard and cold, "if you don't put that finger away you won't have it anymore. And two, I am just as much a part of this as you are, considering you felt it necessary to include a picture of my _cousin_ on a nice little flyer planted all about St. Mungo's." Natasha's jaw dropped, along with her finger, as she looked at the tempered girl in astonishment.

"Healer Weasley has another bone to pick with you, though I have to admit, I am rather curious as to how you procured that picture." Scorpius said in an even tone. "I know we don't have slots in the patient rooms where a picture like that can be taken. So, the question is, how did you get in the room long enough to take that picture without notice?"

Natasha shifted in her chair, smirking a bit.

"Well wouldn't you like to know." She simpered, her tone overly sarcastic. "Well, perhaps if you weren't such an arse I would tell you."

"You're kidding me right?" Lucy replied, gaping. "Scorpius? An arse? He probably told you just what you deserved to hear, but it was probably so much nicer than I would have given it to you! You wanna know _why_ he won't say yes to you-"

"Lucy!" Scorpius warned, but Lucy was on the warpath.

"Not only are you a spoiled brat who doesn't know what the word 'no' means-"

"Lucy, really now-"

"But when a guy tells you no more than once, you continue to pursue him-"

"Oh dear Lord…" Scorpius mumbled, placing his hand over his eyes.

"And just make things difficult for everyone else when he tries to let you down easy! Well newsflash Natasha! He's never going to like you like that! So stop chasing after him. Besides, he already has a girl that he's head over heels for. You don't need to make things hard on him because you feel wounded on the inside or something. Get over it. This is the real world." Natasha continued to gape, quite speechlessly at Lucy, and Scorpius peeked from behind his hand.

"Are you done yet?" He asked, half amusedly, half cautiously. Lucy nodded curtly and Scorpius pulled his hands away from his face.

"Now Natasha." He said, glancing at Lucy, who seemed to still be steaming. "I want you to go to healer Harrison after this and get some of the new arrivals to help you take all of these flyers down. Then, after that, you will report to head of logistics and tell him why I sent you to him. And he will be expecting you to be there, so don't think you'll get out of this one unscathed. Professionalism is an important part of this job. And right now, you're lacking every bit of it." He sighed and sat down, twisting his chair.

"You're dismissed. And I _will_ check Natasha." He didn't turn to see if she got up, but he heard the clicking of her heels and the slam of a door, so he was pretty sure that she was gone for the day.

"We still need to talk Scorpius." Scorpius nearly jumped in his seat when he realized that Lucy was still in his office. He twisted his chair back to her and looked at her meaningfully.

"Well make it pretty quick Luce," Scorpius said. "I have to punch in shortly."

"I know the poster is Natasha's doing," Lucy said slowly, emphasizing her words carefully. "But the picture itself is authentic. What I'm getting at, is I know what's going to happen. It's going to start escalating quickly from here on out." She placed the flyer down on his desk, the picture facing him. He was positioned close to Rose, his mouth flush with her ear, an unmistakable Weasley blush upon her cheeks. It looked intimate, and to a third person observer, it would appear to be almost too intimate. Especially for a healer who was in a working environment when the picture was taking place. "I just want you to be aware. Things happen for a reason Scorpius. I can't say I told you so yet. But I can give you a warning. You've just stepped into some very guarded territory. I like you, but you know the deal. Old habits die hard. Just be careful." And with that she left, leaving Scorpius to think about what she really meant.

**Well hello My dear Readers! I am so so so so so so so sorry that I haven't written in so long! It has been super super busy, I just moved from one side of the country to the other for work, and I've been busy working non stop since then. So again I apologize for the long wait, And I will try to keep up with this story more frequently. I have the next few chapters in my head, I just have to get them on paper. Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope this chapter wasn't a disappointment! Enjoy and until next time! 3**


	10. Spontanious Combustion

Of Burns And Scalpels

Spontaneous Combustion

Rose walked briskly to her office, despite her grogginess, and tapped her wand against the door, muttering her short spell to unlock the door and allow her into her abode. She set her bag onto the chair propped up next to her door and collapsed in the chair at her desk, suddenly feeling more exhausted than she had just a few moments prior. She didn't have any dragon's to tend to until almost eight, which meant she still had a few minutes to compose herself and prepare for the day. A light knock came at the door, and Rose glanced up, startled.

"Albus?" She inquired, tilting her head in confusion. "What are you doing here?" Albus smirked and shrugged, walking into her office and shutting the door behind him.

Oh you know, just checking in on my favorite cousin." He replied, taking a seat on the side of her desk and picking up one of the little wooden dragons that were splayed across her desk. "I can do that every now and then can't I?"

"Well, yes." Rose replied, her eyes narrowing. "It's just that I also just had Alice come visit me this morning, and I was wondering how coincidental it would be that I'd run into two of my three best friends in one day?" Albus chuckled and ruffled his hair uneasily. He'd forgotten that Alice had visited her this morning to slip her the potion. Just a minor setback.

"Hey, I can't help it if two great minds think alike." He joked. "But in all seriousness, I just came by to see how you were doing after yesterday. Truth be told, I was hoping you would have at least considered taking the day off or something, even calling in sick. But _no_, Rose Weasley doesn't call in sick." Rose giggled and rolled her eyes at her cousin.

"You and Alice both. I swear, you two are like peas in a pod. Have you asked the poor girl out yet?" She joked. When Albus didn't reply immediately her eyes shot up to look at him in surprise.

"First Scorpius, then you!" Albus called out in exsasperation. "Are you two psychic or something?" Rose's jaw dropped.

"You and Alice are _dating_ now!?" She exclaimed. "And I'm just _now_ finding out about it? When did this happen? How long have you been hiding it? Does your family know yet? Have you gone on many dates? Why hasn't she told me yet? Why hadn't YOU told me yet? Oh my, this is just so exciting!" Rose squealed, spinning around in her chair.

"Calm down, calm down." Albus said, waving his hand halfheartedly. "I was going to tell you yesterday, but all that stuff with the Dragon and you in St. Mungos… I just forgot! We haven't been dating long, so don't think I was trying to intentionally keep it from you- Rose are you okay? You don't look so good." Rose's face was tinged a pale green color and her hand was clutching at her stomach, her other hand lying flat on the table for stability.

"I think… spinning in the chair… was a bad idea…" She said slowly. Albus, in a panic, searched around for a wastebin, basket, or even a bowl, one preferably with no holes, to hand to her in case she threw up. He saw one in the corner of the room and quickly summoned it, placing it beneath Rose's mouth just moments before she vomited. He waited a moment before peering into her face and searching for the nausea to pass, but she looked as green as she had moments before.

"I don't feel so good…" She said, and, eyes rolling to the back of her head, she passed out. Albus dropped the bin and caught his cousin, apparating on the spot to St. Mungo's.

..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::..::.::..::..: :..

Scorpius couldn't get what Lucy had said out of his mind the whole time he made his morning rounds. He was pretty sure Lucy was trying to imply that He and Rose, the ever so elusive Rose, were going to get together, and if it happened, which he was not about to admit even to himself that it sounded quite nice in his head, there would be quite a bit of chaos to follow. He was quite perplexed as to why she thought she had to warn him. As if he didn't already know that involving himself further into the Weasley brood would only make his life more of a living hell than it already was. But, as much as he enjoyed the thought, and there his brain went again, of becoming close to Rose, he digressed that, it was highly unlikely to ever happen. Especially since he rarely saw Rose, and the last time they actually had a conversation outside work was before they'd left Hogwarts. On that fateful night.

He shook his head. There was no time to take a trip down memory lane. Not with so much going on. He was a healer. He had to focus. People were going to need his help, and he couldn't allow himself to be distracted by the past. He could do that on his own time. Rose was not going to get him in trouble today, she'd pretty much already popped her head in, as was usual, her one time a week, so he wasn't expecting her to come in again for at least a few more days. That being said, he could expect a slow, uneventful day, then go home and _then_ think about other things.

"Healer Malfoy!" Scorpius turned around and saw one of the senior healers headed his way. He looked frazzled and his cheeks and ears burned a very bright red. "I need you to talk some sense into this fellow, he won't listen! And, well, I'm quite bogged down you see, I really need-"

"Say no more," Scorpius replied, holding up a hand. "I'll take care of it. Where do I need to go?"

"Room 640B. It's Mr. Goswell again." Scorpius groaned.

"Sure, give me the old codger." He half joked. "I'll try to get him chilled out. If Harrison asks for me, I'm getting myself a new arse hole on the sixth floor." The senior Healer sighed in relief.

"Thanks Malfoy, I really owe you one." And with that he hurried off. Malfoy shook his head and headed towards the lift that would bring him to the sixth floor. Upon reaching 640B, he heard a raspy older voice speaking and a softer, more feminine voice speaking back. He peeked his head in and saw Roxanne Weasley, hands on her hips, giving a very stern look to the older man.

"Erm, Roxy?" Scorpius said cautiously. "I wasn't aware you were on this floor." Roxanne was head of appointments on the seventh floor, and very rarely made her way down stairs to any of the other floors unless it was an emergency. In fact, she so rarely made an appearance anywhere else in St. Mungo's that Scorpius often forgot she even worked there to begin with.

"Oh, Scorpius! Healer Claude must have chosen you then." Roxy said, pushing her bangs away from her face. "I was just reminding Sergio that he doesn't do his blood pressure any good when he throws fits as he does."

"And I was just reminding Roxy that I'm quite capable of handling my own health issues." The man's gravelly voice interjected. Roxy glared at him.

"You wish old man." Roxy said, tapping his head playfully. "You can't even handle your cat let alone your health. Now let the nice healer help you out, and I won't need to come put you in your place." Mr. Goswell grumbled and Scorpius subdued a snicker. Roxanne was by far the sassiest of the Weasley clan. She was almost a secret Weasley. Caramel skin and big brown doe eyes, with dark, dark red hair that could almost be considered black, she didn't look like the conventional Weasley. She did however have freckles and a streak for mischief to boot. It was her personality that landed her a relationship with the Chudley Cannon's Keeper Jonathon Wood, who, according to anyone you asked, was quite smitten with the girl.

"Nice seeing you though Scorpius." Roxy said smiling at him. "I have to be going or I'd love to chat more. I saw you and my little Rosie getting pretty close on those dazzling little flyers about the institute this morning." Scorpius felt his face burn and Roxy smiled cheekily, pinching his cheek and sweeping her way out of the room. Scorpius sighed and turned his attention back to the patient, who was sitting with his arms across his chest, looking quite cross.

"So I've been told I needed to talk some sense into you." Scorpius commented, taking a seat in the visitors chair on the side. "But it looks like Roxy already gave you an earful. So, what's the verdict?"

"I hate coming here for these checkups." Mr. Goswell replied. "I already know I'm dying. No need to remind me or something. I want to just stay at home and enjoy the rest of what's left of my life before I pass away. These checkups end the same way every time. 'Eat better and use less magic.' Or 'Try to incorporate some exercise into you daily routine.' Codswallop in my opinion. Back in my day, why, we didn't need these things. We just did what we liked. And when it was our time, it was our time."

"So you're really just sick of coming here." Scorpius said. The old man nodded and sighed.

"I just want to stop being reminded that I don't have that much time left. People for some reason find it their job to tell me often, as if I could forget." He sighed and scratched his head.

"I'll take the bloody medicine, but I won't like it. And I'd appreciate it if they would stop scheduling these appointments so close to one another." Scorpius nodded.

"I'll see what I can do for you Mr. Goswell." Scorpius replied. "I'll talk to Roxy again. I can understand how it can be frustrating. And I'll talk to healer Claude too. He's your primary care facilitator, yes?" The man nodded and Scorpius stood, smiling slightly.

"Don't forget to stop by Lisa's on your way out for your meds. Other than that, you are free to go Mr. Goswell." He turned and was on his way out the door when Mr. Goswell stopped him.

"Hey, boy." Scorpius turned his attention back to the man.

"Yes sir?" He asked patiently. The man eyed him for a long moment.

"Don't get too riled up by this place." He said slowly. "You seem like a decent young man. Don't turn into one of those wankers they've got running around here." Scorpius couldn't help but laugh at that.

"I'll do my best." He replied, and turned to leave the floor.

**Hello readers! Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the last one, but I didn't want to dip into Scorpius's next encounter with Rose just yet, that isn't something you can just cut off halfway through and be like, OH LOOK A CLIFFIE! :D Anyway… cough cough… I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, I'm currently about to start the next one so expect it soon! I have some free time this weekend so the updates may make up for my lack of updates the past month! Gomenesai TT_TT**

**Well, keep on reading! Thank you all so much!**


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